Here comes the sun

We've had several days of sun, so I am hopeful now that summer has really begun here in Oregon. Our huge balcony once again overlooks a lush forest, and it's too challenging to stay inside, so I just don't. Jack and I stay outside all day, and since it's difficult to see my computer screen outside, I don't do any paying work.

This is a problem.

Even though PH has paying work now, and we are trying to move towards living from a single paycheck again, it all feels like two steps forward and then one step back. Though we are making great headway in reducing the debt that we incurred to move here, there are several major expenses on the horizon that mean the debt payments go out a bit slower than I would prefer.

I admit that not all of the expenses are truly mandatory; veterinary bills, probably so, our upcoming "staycation" maybe not so much, though PH would insist that he requires it for his own sanity as he has worked at the hospital almost every day for the last 2 months. The staycation will cost us money in actual expenses as well as lost wages for me. But I'm excited. We are going to do some fun things here in Oregon and Washington for 10 days in June, and since we're only leaving home for a couple of nights, I'll probably still be able to squeak in some paying work on the side.

For other expenses it could be argued that they are unnecessary, but we feel they are necessary in that they buy us time; investments in our future that we no longer wish to delay. One example is that we'll soon be moving again, and due to various personal circumstances it is likely that that the process may once again be expensive. We would be able to reduce expenses if we moved at another time, but we don't feel that is acceptable. So it will cost us $$$ but allow us to move forward with our life's goals more quickly. I guess our thought is that we can always make more money, but other opportunities have an expiration date, and so those get done first. These are the choices we make.